Boosting West Coast exports seen key for moving bigger Canada crops

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 16 (Reuters) - Canada needs to
invest in shipping more grains and oilseeds off the West Coast
as harvests get larger, to avoid the massive transportation
backlogs that followed last year's record crops, industry
officials said on Wednesday.

Last year, 19.3 million tonnes of grain moved in bulk and
containers combined through Port Metro Vancouver, British
Columbia, the country's biggest port, which connects Canadian
commodities with Asian buyers, according to the port.

But handling Canadian commodity volumes that are trending
higher will require greater spending on infrastructure to move
the goods to the West Coast, some say.

"The demand and pinch point for us as a country really does
exist on the West Coast," said Jeff Vassart, president of
Cargill Ltd, the Canadian division of the global
agribusiness giant. "That's where we see demand increasing into
the future"

Vassart, speaking at the Canadian Global Crops Symposium in
Winnipeg, also said he expects grain companies to continue
spending to make country elevators more efficient.

Canada relies on railways to move wheat, canola and other
crops vast distances from western provinces to ports on the
Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Last year's
record-large 76-million-tonne Western-Canada harvest, followed
by a frigid winter, have overwhelmed Canadian National Railway
Co and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, backing up
the flow of millions of tonnes of grain.

Cargill is spending C$50 million ($45 million) over several
years to move grain faster and more efficiently through
Vancouver. The two biggest Canadian grain handlers, Richardson
International and Viterra, have announced plans to
expand capacity at the port.

More can be done, said Jean-Jacques Ruest, chief marketing
officer of Canadian National Railway.
Continued...